How to Increase Line Spacing in Terminal for Better Reading [Mac]

If you are a Mac user whose job includes playing around with the Terminal, then you must have noticed the tiny line spacing in between the commands that make typing and reading difficult. While Apple has taken care to ensure that its Mac looks as crisp and sharp as possible, it seems the Terminal design has a bit of a flaw. So when you would type in multiple commands or get command results in multiple lines, you’d find it a bit difficult to read it due to the thin line spacing.

Well, there’s a workaround that can help you make reading Terminal results easier. You don’t need to use an app to do this, as your Mac does allow you to change the line spacing, and it isn’t as difficult as you may think. Just go through some Mac settings panels, and you will be done. Here’s how:

Changing Line Spacing in the Terminal

Click on the Launchpad icon in your dock and type “Terminal” in the search box. Click on the Terminal icon to launch the Terminal app.

Once Terminal launches, click on “Terminal” (it is next to the Apple icon) followed by “Preferences…” This is where you can change the settings for the Terminal app.

Click on the “Settings” tab. Under the “Text” sub-tab; you should see a button saying “Change…” Click on it. It will let you change the text settings for the Terminal app.

The window that opens up is what lets you change the line spacing. It also allows you to change various other things, such as the font family, typeface, font size, and a few other options. The size bar you see at the bottom is for line spacing. Just drag it to the right side, and the line spacing will increase. Dragging it to the left will decrease the line spacing. Adjust it to whatever you feel good with and then close the window.

You should be able to see the changes taking place in real time, so keep a Terminal window open and see things changing for yourself. It will help you know what size works the best for you.

Once you are done with that, you can begin typing some commands to see the changes. For example, type in “cal” and you should see a calendar in the Terminal window. Can you see it properly and think the line spacing is good? You are all set. If not, just go back to the Preferences panel and increase the line spacing until it feels good to you.

This method is fully reversible, and you can always set the line spacing to default by going to the same settings menu and changing the values.

Conclusion

Whether you have a weak eyesight or you just don’t like clogged-up text, the tip above should help you make reading and typing in Terminal a bit better and more enjoyable.

Is this article useful?

The Complete Beginner's Guide to Ubuntu 16.04

Are you tired of using Windows or OS X as your operating system and thinking of trying out, and possibly switching, to Linux? In this Complete Beginner's Guide to Ubuntu 16.04 ebook, we will guide you and show you everything you need to know about Ubuntu - the most popular Linux distro.